Homogenizing valve



Apr. 10, 1923. 1,451,393

-D. F. HQRMANN HOMQGENIZING VALVE "mled Juin; e, 1932 y 3 0 f f "umu lvige Il mui. l y |11, L 1mi l t f" 1, f f mm1 l ff Patented Apr. 10,1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

HALII!` T EDWARD FREEMAN COMEGYS,

OF OKLAHOMA, OKLAHOMA.

' HOMOGENIZING VALVE.

Application filed June 6,

To all/whom it may concern:

Be it known that I,- DrEnnioH F. Hon- MANN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Oklahoma, in the county ofOklahoma, State of'Oklahoma, have invented certain new' and usefulV ImprovementsinHomogenizing Valves, of which the following is a description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawin and to the figures of referencemarked t eieon.

This invention relates to homogenizing valves for milk and other fluids,and more particularly to a homogenizing valve comprising a series orstack of homogenizing units adapted to form intervening homogenizingpassages.

In homogenizing valves of the above character, the milk is forced underpressure, be-

tween thesubstantially iiat contiguous faces '20 of the homogenizingunits, generally' of the disk type. Experience has shown that the liquidinvariably Hows through the opening or space between the uppermost disksand not between any of the lower disks. This is due to the weight of thedisks which is enough to cause the liquid to flow through the upperopening only when the apparatus begins to operate, and as the pressureis kincreased, the

tightly close by the pressure -on the upper disk, resulting in a very`rsmall liquid being pumped through the homogenizing valve. Obviously,the size of this upper opening ca ot be enlarged beyond lafv 3 5 certainmaximum because a certain percent- -age of the liquid flowilpl'g'therethrough will not be homogenized. ence, attempts have been made toinsure the iow of milk between all of the disks by providing' theiradjoining 40 faces with radial slots, but experience has shown thatthese slotsA permit quite a percentage of liquid to flow through themwith-A out hoihogenization.

One of the objects of the'present invention is to provide a homogenizingdevice wherein the milk or liquid may traverse between all of thehomogenizing units, if necessary, without sacrificing any of the desiredhomogenizing effects.

lStill another object of this invention is to rovidea device of theabove character which can be suitably adjusted so that the milk or otherliquid will flow between the faces of one or more pairs of thesehomogenizing units corresponding to the amount lower openings will morevquantity of 1922. Serial No. 566,430.

of fluid pumped through the valve. In other words, the homogenizingvalve will operate at variable capacity.

Still another object of the invention resides in the means for pressingthe -homogleniaing units together and on to the seat therefor, thismeans being constructed and yarranged to automatically adjust the valvedisks sov that there are no irregular openings between the same, even ifthey have not been correctly ground; or to compensate for any inaccuracyin the alinement of the valve stein with respect to the planes of theunits. Yet a further feature of this invention resides 'in the means formaintaining lthe .homogenizing disks in their correct working positionabout the infeeding milk passage.

Further features of the invention relate to the special construction Vofthe pressure pin for distributin the milk uniformly between the pairs ohomogenizing units or disks, the adjustability of this pin and thespecial construction of the valve in general. These and other featuresofthe invention will be apparent from a perusal of the followingspecification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure 1 is a sid elevation of the device; "Fig 2 is a sectiontaken at right angles thereto, and

Fig. 3 is a plan View of 'one of the homogeni'ziiig disks.

'Referring now specifically to the' drawings, the improved valvecomprises a casing including a lower sectiornI land an u per section 2.These sections are joined a ong the intermediate line 3, and are boltedtogether by a series of l bolts 4, thereby pro-4 viding a valve easilydisassembled for cleaning purposes if desired` The lower section isprovided with a liquid entrance 5 which extendstransversely through oneside thereof and terminates in a substantially vertical bore 6, theupper face of which is somewhat enlarged to receive a threaded plug 7having a central milk passage 8 which constitutes a continuation of thepassage 6. The upper face of this threaded plug 7 'is suitably ground toprovide a valve seat 9. The upper portion 2 `of the valve casing is pro-10`5 vided with an enlargedv chamber 10 which surrounds the uppermostportion of the plug 7 and valve seat 9. This chamber 10 is of relativelylarge dimensions to accommodate no A the stack or series of'homogeniaing units 110 l Verably the inner wall of each of these an-'sod which in the particular form illustrated are shown as disks whichare superimposed upon the valve seat 9. These units may be made inanydesired shape and assembled in other relations. At one side, lthechamber l0 emerges into a milk discharging outlet 11 which passesthrough the lower side'of the portion 2 of the caslng.

The homogenizing disks are preferably arranged as annuli, the centralopenings of which register and are concentric with the milk passage 8 ofthe threaded plug 7. These annuli are, preferably beveled on their innerfaces as is customary in the art to provide an easy ingress of the milkbetween the ground flat surfaces of .the annuli. Prefnuli of disks arebeveled toward the flat face as at 12 and 13. On the upper circumferenceor periphery, eac-h -annuli is provided with a series of radial lugs 14preferably sixty degrees apart. These lugs constitute spacmg members fora perforated centering sleeve 15 which is clamped between the `'shoulder16 on the'upper face of the plug 7 and a shoulder 17 on the inner upperwall of the chamber 10. The inner wall of this centerin sleeve fitsexactly the'oute-r peripheral'- isks are in position, the centeringsleeve maintains them concentrically about the centralmilk passage 8.A'sshown, this sleeve is suitably perforated to permit the passage ofthe milk discharging therethrough.l In addition, these perforations morethoroughly break up and emulsify the milk as it dis- A chargestherethrough.

.- stem or the` threaded.

k he lhomogenizing disks are clamped together and to the seat 9 by meansof la valve stem 18. This valve stem threads through an upper elongatedsleeve 19 which is a part of the upper portion 2-of the valve c'asin Thelower portion of this valve stem 18 1s I provided with a roundedball-like surface 20. which fits within a concavity in the top of theupper valve disk 21 which is `preferabl much thicker than the ber valvediskb i an, of course,

t has no opening therethrough, the-same being slightly recessed as at 22to permit a suiiicient passage of.milk to .the joint between these disksand the lower adjacent valve the valve stem 18 and the upper disk givesthe valve disk so..that'there can b e no irregular openings between the.disks, even if the same are not as thick on one side as they are on theother,

provided that the` faces ofthedisks are true and straight. So also, thisuniversal or ball joint allows for any inaccuracy in the valve such asthe center lineI of the valve plug '7 not being exactly in line orparalle with the center line of the valve,

the threaded plug7 is not exactly at right aces of the lugs 14 so thatwhen the disk. This ball joint between or for instance, if the face .ofV

.angles with the center line of the valve stem, which may be caused byinaccurate machining of the different parts of the Valve. Obviously,this ball joint may be formed by inserting a round ball between thecup-shaped faces formed in the lower end of the valve stem 18 and theupper face of the top disk.

Means is rovided for causing the liquid or milk to ow between all of thehomogenizing disks.- The preferred form of this means compresses thedistributing or pressure pin 23 detachably carried as by means of a.threaded connection 24 to a threaded plug' 25 screwing into an extensionof the liquid channel 6.l This plug 25 not only closes the end of thebore 6, but also consti tutes a means for adjusting the pressure pinrelatively to the homogenizing disks. This pressure pin as illustratedextends longitudinally and centrally of the milk channel 6 and its innerend is provided withl an enlarged tapered portion 26, the taper flaringgradually outward toward the upper end of the pm to a substantialshoulder 27,

at which point the in is of uniform diameter to the very en is soproportioned as volume of milk or other liquid to iiow between it andthe inner projections of the annuli as can be accommodated by andeilic-iently homogenized between any two adjacent disks. If thispressure pin were not present, all of the milk orI liquid to be unifiedwould pass .between the two uppermost disks irrespectiverof the quantityof liquid or milk going through the valve, but with the pressure pin l23properly adjusted, the sip-ace .etwec-n the pin and the inside edge othe next to the `uppermdst disk is restricted to such an extent as toallow only enoughv milk to get to the upper joint between the uppermostdisk and the next adjacent disk which this joint will properlyhomogenize. Now, if more liquid orJ milk is pumped through the inlet- 5of the valve than this upper joint will perfectly homogenize, the'ressure wlll e greater on the joint imme iately below this, that is, thejoint between the second and third disks, counting from the topdownwardl than on the-upper joint before descri ed, thus causing anincrease of the gauge'pressure of the ump. Then, if the valve stem I8 isadjuste that is, slightly opened to give Athe proper working pressure,the second` joint of the valve will open owing to the fact thatV all themilk or -l1qu1d pumped cannot pass the upper endof the The taper of thispin pressure pin, and since the pressure and quantity .of milk orliquid" to behomogenizedis increased, and the valve stem has beenproperly opened to give the corresponding correct workingpressure,-thissecto permit only suchY `ond joint will efiicientlyjhomogenize theexeachdisk will open through the next to the uppermost joint. Thus, bysuitably adjusting the valve stem in accordance wlth the pump pressureand amount of 'fluid passing through the-valve, in turn until the fullca. pacity of the valve is reached. From this it is evident that thevalve can be operated at variable capacity and that the milk passingthrough the inlet passage 6 and coming in 10 contact with the inside ofthe disks and the evenly tapered portion of the pressure pin 23, 1sdistributed in a. uniform manner to all of the disked openings.

It must be manifestthat the abovedescribed device provides a valve whichnot structed and arranged also only is' capable of `working at avariable capacity, but whenever so working it homog# enizes the wholepercentage of the milk passing therethrough. The valve as convthoroughlyinsures the correct seating .ofthe disks and their correct alinementwith respect to the valve stem and pressure pin, the rst, by means oftheperforatedA sleeve 15, and the second, by means of the ball joint 19. It

will also be evident that in the present valve, the upper portion 19which may b e called the bonnet or collecting dome, may be readilyremoved to facilitateY the clean- 30, ing of the apparatus and forremoving the 3 5 the seat.

4 restricting the flow homogenizing elements including the lowerthreaded plug or seat when it is necessary to remove these elements toregrind the same or for regrinding It is further manifest that thepressure pin is entirely independent of the homogenizing disks orannuli, and therefore, these elements can be disassembled without anydanger of sticking. It is obvious' that minor changes iu the ydetails ofconstruction and the arrangement of the parts may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appendedclaims.

Having thus described the invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters-Patent, is-

L A homogenizing valvecomprising superimposed units having abuttingplane faces adapted to homogenize liquid forced therebetween, .means foradjusting the interval between two of such abutting faces, and meansadjacent such abutting faces for restricting the flow of liquid to suchinterval. l

2. A homogenizing valve comprising juxtaposed 4disks adapted torhomogeniz'e liquid forced therebetween, for pressing saiddisks togetherand means irrespective of the pressure of the liquid for of liquidbetween two what adjacent disks.

3. A juxtaposed disks adapted liquid forced therebetween,

homogenlzing valve comprising to homogenize and means 1nadjustablemeans' dependent of said disks for distributing the liquid uniformly involume to the openings between said disks.

4. A homogenizing valve comprising juxtaposed annuli forming a centralliquid passage and homogenizing passages between the faces of theannuli, and a tapered distributing pin concentrically disposed in saidcentral liquid passage.

5. A homogenizing valve comprising juxtaposed annuli forming a. centralliquid passage and homogeniziug passages between the faces of theannuli, a tapered distributing pin concentrically disposed in saidcentral liquid passage, and means for adjusting the position of said pinrelatively to said annuli.

6. A homogenizing valve comprising a casing having a suitable fluidpassage therethrough, a stack of homogenizing annuli arranged with theircentral apertures'concentric with said passage, a perforated centeringsleeve surrounding said annuli, and constructed and arranged tomaintainsaid annuli in centered position.

7. A homogenizing valve comprising homogenizing units, means forassembling said units in a series s`o as to provide a plurality ofintervening homogenzing passages, and means for insuring the flow ofequal 'volumes of liquid through said passages. j 7 as for instance,

8..,A homogenizing valve comprising a series of homogenizing unitsadapted to form. intervening homogenizing passages. means whereby liquidmay be forced under pressure tok said units, and devices constructed andarranged to permit the separation of two, or more than two, ofsaid unitsto permit a flow of liquid through the corresponding intervening passageor passages and to insure the equal spacing of said separated units whenmore than two are so separated.

9. A lhomog'enizing valve comprisinga series vof homogenizmg umtsadapted to -form intervening homogenlzmg passages,

means whereby liquid under pressure lay be forced to said units,' anddevices constructed and arranged to permit the separation of two, ormore than two, of said unitsunder the pressure of said liquid to permita flow of liquid through the corresponding intervening passage orpassages and to insure the equal spacing of said separated units whenmore. than two are so separated.

10. A homogenizing valve comprising a 'series of homogenizing unitshaving contiguous homogenizing faces, means whereby liquid may be forcedunder said units, and devices constructed and arranged to cause theautomatic equal separation of certain of said units due to the flow ofsaid liquid. s

11. A' homogenizing valve comprising a series of homogenizing. unitshaving conpressure to tiguous homogenizling faces-means forming atapering Huid passage leading to seid faces, and means for positioningsaid units to permit the flow of Huid therethrough,

5 12. A homogenizing valve comprising Aa series 'of homogenizing unitshaving con tiguous homogenizing faces,l means forming a tapering fluidpassage leading to said faces, and means for positioning said units Y i0to permit the separation of certain thereof due to the liquid flow.

13. A homogenizing valve comprising a body having a Huid passagetherethroughp a disk seat adjustably threading into said body andprovided with a bore re istering with said passage, a stack of annu iseated on said disk seat, a stem 'threading into said body and pressingsaid annuli to said seat, a pin? disposed in said fluid passage andprovided with a tapering head and arranged coneentrically within thebore of said annuli.

In testimony whereof, I aix vmy signature.

DIEDRBICH FREDERICH HORWANN.v

